UC San Diego to Launch Institute for the Global Entrepreneur

The Institue for the Global Entrepreneur at UC San Diego officially launches on June 2, 2016

San Diego, CA, May 31, 2016 -- On June 2, 2016, the University of California San Diego will launch the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur, a collaboration between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the Rady School of Management. The Institute represents an unprecedented level of collaboration between engineering and management students and faculty at UC San Diego.

“There is incredible power and opportunity in this Institute. Deepening connections between our world class engineering and management schools will fuel innovation and fill the talent pipeline in new ways,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This is one example of how UC San Diego is redefining the future of the world-class public university.”

“We are responding to industry demands. The companies we interact with are asking for engineers who are empowered beyond the technical expertise and also have the innovation and management of innovation skills that the Rady School is famous for,” said Albert P. Pisano, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. “Together with the Rady School we will educate these change makers, technical leaders and entrepreneurs.”

As part of the new Institute, Jacobs School of Engineering graduate students and Rady MBA students will take classes together and work in teams through Rady’s signature Lab to Market core sequence, which challenges students to build a business around a real technological innovation. The first group of engineering graduate students going through this four-quarter pilot for the Technology Management and Entrepreneurism Fellowship Program began in the 2016 Spring quarter. The university plans to develop the pilot into a master’s degree program.

“We are forging new paths with the Technology Management and Entrepreneurism Fellowship Program and continuing to deliver on our promise to impact the innovation economy,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “The combination of our two world-class schools puts us in a position to do what no other institution has been able to accomplish.”

The Institute for the Global Entrepreneur encompasses a range of existing Jacobs School and Rady School programs focused on entrepreneurism education, entrepreneurism training, leadership education and training programs, and an extensive path to market platform. The Institute is also focused on building strategic partnerships locally and internationally to ensure exciting discoveries are transferred to the marketplace.

BETTER TOGETHER

“We are developing students who are better prepared to launch technology driven start-ups or excel in organizations that thrive on innovation,” said Vish Krishnan, Rady School Professor of Innovation, Technology and Operations and Associate Director of the Institute. “The core Lab to Market sequence mirrors what students will encounter in their careers and provides them a collaborative environment to hone their skills. Innovation will be pushed forward, there will be results from this.”

This will involve programs for faculty as well as students.

“Startups and established companies often fail because the business and engineering sides get disconnected,” said Sujit Dey, the inaugural Director of the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Jacobs School. “Based on my experiences as a professor, an entrepreneur and a director of the industry-funded Center for Wireless Communications, I am focused on increasing the translation of innovation from our campus both locally and globally.”

INSTITUTE FOR THE GLOBAL ENTREPRENEUR

The Institute for the Global Entrepreneur encompasses education and training programs, mentoring, and strategic partnerships, all working toward a common goal: preparing engineers and MBA students to become change makers, technical leaders, and entrepreneurs who drive innovation within organizations both large and small. The work of the Institute falls roughly into five categories:

Entrepreneurism Education

The Institute is setting up a joint degree program that matches Rady MBA students with Jacobs School graduate students for practical innovation training in a team environment. The Institute also offers management and engineering courses in leadership, innovation, and business to engineering undergraduate and graduate students.

Entrepreneurism Training

The Institute's von Liebig Center hosts one of the most active NSF I-Corps sites for training engineering and science innovators in the lean start-up and customer discovery methodology. More than 100 teams have already benefited from I-Corps training.

Leadership Training

Through the Gordon Engineering Leadership Center, students get hands-on training and learn to build teams, manage projects and lead based on their inherent strengths. The Center also offers workshops, networking events, and speaker series.

Path to Market Platform

The Institute continues to enhance its Path to Market platform that includes NSF I-Corps Training, the mystartupXX and StartR accelerators, proof-of-concept funding, entrepreneurs in residence, the entrepreneur’s showcase and business mentoring. The Institute connects entrepreneurs to capital such as the Triton Technology Fund and the Rady Venture Fund.

Strategic Partnerships

The Institute provides entrepreneurism and innovation training for a number of global strategic partners in Japan, Korea, Colombia, Honduras and Chile. The Institute also partners with regional incubators, industry, and the venture community to ensure exciting discoveries are transferred to the marketplace.